China ratifies national days on anti-Japanese victory, Nanjing Massacre

Source:Xinhua Published: 2014-2-27 23:59:51

China's top legislature on Thursday approved two new national days, one to mark victory in the anti-Japanese war and the other to commemorate Nanjing Massacre victims and all those killed during Japanese aggression against China.

September 3 is ratified as "Victory Day of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression" and December 13 the "National Memorial Day for Nanjing Massacre Victims," according to two decisions passed by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), whose bi-monthly session ended on Thursday.

The country will hold national memorial activities on September 3 and December 13 every year, according to the decisions.

Setting the two days through legislative procedures reflected the common will of the Chinese people, said Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee.

One of the purposes of holding memorial activities is to keep firmly in mind the significance of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and its important contribution to the World Anti-Fascist War, he said.

People around the world should be cautious about Japan's history of militarist aggression and safeguard WWII victory and the post-war international order, according to Zhang.

A Foreign Ministry official said the approval of the national days has great historical significance and is a necessity in the current circumstances.

"We urge Japanese leaders to reflect on Japan's history of aggression with a highly responsible attitude toward facts, the people and the future, to correct their mistakes and change their course," said the official.

VICTORY DAY

The Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was a war of national liberation, the first in modern history in which China won complete victory over foreign aggressors. The victory became a historical turning point in the Chinese nation's march toward rejuvenation and laid an important foundation for the independence and liberation of the Chinese people, according to the decision.

The Chinese people made great contribution and sacrifice toward anti-fascist victory for people all around the world and in the great cause of world peace, it said.

After the foundation of the People's Republic of China, the central government designated September 3, the day after the Japanese government officially signed the surrender document on September 2, 1945, as victory day.

The NPC's Standing Committee decided to ratify September 3 as the victory day to keep history firmly in mind, recall the Chinese people's arduous resistance against Japanese aggression, and commemorate heroic martyrs in the war as well as all the people who contributed to the victory, the decision said.

The ratification was also aimed at displaying the important role of China's anti-Japanese war in the World Anti-Fascist War, expressing China's firm stance of safeguarding national sovereignty, territorial solidarity and world peace, while carrying forward national spirit with its core of patriotism and inspiring the joint drive to realize the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation.

MEMORIAL DAY

The NPC's Standing Committee decided to set December 13 as the National Memorial Day for Nanjing Massacre Victims to mourn Nanjing Massacre victims and all those killed by Japanese invaders, and to reveal war crimes committed by the Japanese, according to the decision.

The move was also aimed at remembering the deep calamities the war caused for the Chinese people and people around the world, conveying the Chinese people's firm stance of resisting aggression and safeguarding human dignity and world peace, it said.

On December 13, 1937, Japanese aggressors began a campaign of murder against Chinese in Nanjing that was to last more than 40 days, with the "Nanjing Massacre" shocking the world. More than 300,000 people were killed.

"The massacre was one of the most inhuman fascist atrocities in the history of human civilization. There is irrefutable evidence for the flagrant violation of international laws. Historical conclusions and legal verdicts have been made about the massacre," said Thursday's decision.